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22 December 2023
I haven\'t seen a political atmosphere like the one we\'re currently in since the Eighties. And I was more concerned with Destro and Duke than I was about Ronnie and Mikhail back then, so I guess it\'s safe to say that I\'ve never seen a political atmosphere like our current state. But something has got to be brewing, because every CD I get has some political statement on it. And it seems like there are a plethora of films being made about the subject.
It\'s no secret that Michael Moore doesn\'t make documentaries. And that\'s not to bag on him, but rather to say that his films are slightly... biased. But, hell, so are we. It\'s human nature to be. And I\'m very cautious of the propaganda I take in, as I don\'t want to be influenced by liberal garbage just as much as I don\'t want to be influenced by conservative babble. So I approached these two documentaries, American Jobs and Uncovered: The War On Iraq, with much trepidation.
But, as it turns out, I didn\'t need to be worried.
American Jobs is a personal investigation by first-time filmmaker Greg Spotts. Spotts is a freelance MTV producer, but try not to hold that against him. American Jobs is void of any slick-ass, glossy MTV garbage. In fact, it\'s about as D.I.Y. as you can get.
Between 2000 and 2003, more than three million American manufacturing jobs had left the country. Spotts took notice, and decided to investigate it a little further. The product of his inquiry is a damn interesting documentary.
From start to finish, the film was shot, edited, and finished in a span of just six months. In the film, Spotts travels to numerous American towns, interviewing people that had lost their jobs to places overseas. In some cases, these people had lost their jobs after holding them for nearly 30 years. How\'s that for caring about your employees?
The great thing about this film is that it\'s short and to the point. Spotts doesn\'t get long-winded in his storytelling, and knows when to end the film. Coming in at just under an hour, American Jobs is a perfect little slice about our consumer-obsessed culture. If we keep up at this rate, we\'ll be a country of only consumers and no workers! Wouldn\'t that suck?!?
That said, the DVD will be released on September 6th, so be sure to go on out and buy one, ya consuming whore! That is, if you have a job and an income to be able to afford it.
Next up is Uncovered: The War On Iraq from filmmaker Robert Greenwald. Greenwald is responsible for another documentary you may have heard of: Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch\'s War On Journalism, which goes into the horrid network known as FOX.
But Uncovered... is a more politically-charged tale of right and wrong than the FOX tale. Uncovered... focuses on how valid (or invalid) our current war on Iraq was. But instead of parading images of parents that have lost loved ones or dead Iraqi children in front of us, Greenwald concentrates on both opinions and facts brought to us from influential government officials.
Greenwald interviews a wide range of people, from physicists and nuclear weapons experts, to ex-CIA members and special assistants to President Bush. And guess what the general consensus is? That the war on Iraq was total and utter bush! (Pun way intended!)
Uncovered... is obviously a slanted approach to the war, but it isn\'t really telling us anything we don\'t know already. The really amazing thing about this film is that what we\'ve always assumed is validated by some powerful and influential people in politics.
It\'s one thing to hear my burnout hippie neighbor tell me the war in Iraq is bullshit. It\'s another to hear it from a 60-year-old honky that served directly under Bush.
And that\'s what this film does best. It introduces a familiar topic to a familiar audience, but does so with the support and proof of an unfamiliar-- and unlikely-- ally.
Greenwald focuses primarily on interview footage, and I dug that. If it were overproduced or if slick graphics were added to the film, the validity of the words being spoken would have suffered. But because of its grass roots look and feel, Uncovered... holds its own.
If you\'re pissed off with how things are in the world, grab a copy of both of these films so you have ammunition in political debate. Both films are intriguing and informative, but not overly in-your-face like Moore\'s films.
To learn more about American Jobs, email the filmmaker, Greg Spotts, here. And to check out Uncovered: The War On Iraq, go here.
It\'s no secret that Michael Moore doesn\'t make documentaries. And that\'s not to bag on him, but rather to say that his films are slightly... biased. But, hell, so are we. It\'s human nature to be. And I\'m very cautious of the propaganda I take in, as I don\'t want to be influenced by liberal garbage just as much as I don\'t want to be influenced by conservative babble. So I approached these two documentaries, American Jobs and Uncovered: The War On Iraq, with much trepidation.
But, as it turns out, I didn\'t need to be worried.
American Jobs is a personal investigation by first-time filmmaker Greg Spotts. Spotts is a freelance MTV producer, but try not to hold that against him. American Jobs is void of any slick-ass, glossy MTV garbage. In fact, it\'s about as D.I.Y. as you can get.
Between 2000 and 2003, more than three million American manufacturing jobs had left the country. Spotts took notice, and decided to investigate it a little further. The product of his inquiry is a damn interesting documentary.
From start to finish, the film was shot, edited, and finished in a span of just six months. In the film, Spotts travels to numerous American towns, interviewing people that had lost their jobs to places overseas. In some cases, these people had lost their jobs after holding them for nearly 30 years. How\'s that for caring about your employees?
The great thing about this film is that it\'s short and to the point. Spotts doesn\'t get long-winded in his storytelling, and knows when to end the film. Coming in at just under an hour, American Jobs is a perfect little slice about our consumer-obsessed culture. If we keep up at this rate, we\'ll be a country of only consumers and no workers! Wouldn\'t that suck?!?
That said, the DVD will be released on September 6th, so be sure to go on out and buy one, ya consuming whore! That is, if you have a job and an income to be able to afford it.
Next up is Uncovered: The War On Iraq from filmmaker Robert Greenwald. Greenwald is responsible for another documentary you may have heard of: Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch\'s War On Journalism, which goes into the horrid network known as FOX.
But Uncovered... is a more politically-charged tale of right and wrong than the FOX tale. Uncovered... focuses on how valid (or invalid) our current war on Iraq was. But instead of parading images of parents that have lost loved ones or dead Iraqi children in front of us, Greenwald concentrates on both opinions and facts brought to us from influential government officials.
Greenwald interviews a wide range of people, from physicists and nuclear weapons experts, to ex-CIA members and special assistants to President Bush. And guess what the general consensus is? That the war on Iraq was total and utter bush! (Pun way intended!)
Uncovered... is obviously a slanted approach to the war, but it isn\'t really telling us anything we don\'t know already. The really amazing thing about this film is that what we\'ve always assumed is validated by some powerful and influential people in politics.
It\'s one thing to hear my burnout hippie neighbor tell me the war in Iraq is bullshit. It\'s another to hear it from a 60-year-old honky that served directly under Bush.
And that\'s what this film does best. It introduces a familiar topic to a familiar audience, but does so with the support and proof of an unfamiliar-- and unlikely-- ally.
Greenwald focuses primarily on interview footage, and I dug that. If it were overproduced or if slick graphics were added to the film, the validity of the words being spoken would have suffered. But because of its grass roots look and feel, Uncovered... holds its own.
If you\'re pissed off with how things are in the world, grab a copy of both of these films so you have ammunition in political debate. Both films are intriguing and informative, but not overly in-your-face like Moore\'s films.
To learn more about American Jobs, email the filmmaker, Greg Spotts, here. And to check out Uncovered: The War On Iraq, go here.
artid
2691
Old Image
7_1_documentaries.jpg
issue
vol 7 - issue 01 (sep 2004)
section
entertainmental